Where to start

One of the most important things to consider is that when we say "resources", we might be talking about journals, books or databases. Electronic resources are resources that are available online: there is no difference in the academic suitability of an electronic resource compared to a print resource. The benefit of using electronic resources is that they are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Your first port of call for finding out which the best resources are for your subject is to visit the Subject Guide for your course. For further help, contact your Subject Librarian whose contact details you will find on the relevant Subject Guide.

Accessing electronic resources

To access resources both on- and off-campus, click on the link to the resource and when prompted to do so, enter your Bolton Network ID and password. A minority of resources require additional steps which are indicated in the list of resources.

When you login to electronic resources you agree a number of terms and conditions which are available in full here. Some resources require you to agree to additional terms which you may see when you access the resource.

Using databases to find academic material

Databases are collections of good quality, academic materials on either specific topics or a wider range of subject areas. Many of our databases provide access to full-text items; indexing databases cite author, title and publication details and will often provide an abstract so you can establish whether or not the research is suitable for your needs.

Links to subject-specific databases are available on this guide along with information on the content of the database.

Our quick start guide to finding information for assignments may be helpful: